News Focus
- Khaldoon Al Mubarak reveals Guardiola threatened to resign on approximately 100 occasions over ten years
- The chairman chose not to fight the departure this time, unlike previous attempts to keep the manager
- Guardiola departs with seventeen major honours despite having twelve months remaining on his contract
- Former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is the leading candidate to take charge at the Etihad Stadium
- The club promises to announce a new manager very soon after advanced talks
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has made a startling admission about Pep Guardiola’s departure. The club chief revealed that the Spanish manager threatened to resign approximately one hundred times during his ten years at the Etihad Stadium. However, Al Mubarak knew this season’s exit was genuine.
Guardiola, aged fifty-five, left his position at the end of the recent campaign. He secured seventeen major trophies during his spell. These include six Premier League titles and one Champions League crown.
The manager still had twelve months remaining on his contract. Yet he insisted that the club required fresh leadership and new energy. He announced this during his final press conference.
Al Mubarak conducts an annual interview with the club’s media. During this conversation, he explained why he did not attempt to change Guardiola’s mind this time. He stated that he knew the decision was final.
“In the past, I always fought to keep him,” said the chairman. “I always brought him back because that was the correct choice. But on this occasion, both of us knew it was the right moment. It was a natural conclusion.”
The chairman described their close bond. He called himself Guardiola’s “psychiatrist” during difficult periods. He noted that the manager had threatened to leave numerous times during the past decade.
Al Mubarak compared the situation to the famous story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. He explained that when Guardiola previously mentioned quitting, nobody took it seriously. The chairman always managed to persuade him to stay.
Speculation about the departure grew before last month’s FA Cup final against Chelsea. Guardiola denied he would leave after the Wembley Stadium match. He insisted he had one more year on his contract. However, his playful tone and quick exit from the room raised suspicions.
Three days after a press conference following a draw at Bournemouth on nineteenth May, the club confirmed his exit. Guardiola had told reporters he needed to discuss his future with Al Mubarak.
Guardiola joined Manchester City in twenty-sixteen. He signed contract extensions in twenty-eighteen, twenty-twenty, twenty-twenty-two, and twenty-twenty-four. The chairman revealed that Guardiola never expected to remain beyond four or five years.
“He always asked how much longer he should stay,” explained Al Mubarak. “We had to handle everything properly. Eventually, there had to be one moment when it became real.”
Former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is the leading candidate to replace Guardiola. The club is reportedly in advanced discussions with the Italian. When asked about the search, Al Mubarak requested patience from supporters. He promised that the club would soon appoint the best possible manager.